Avatar Blu-ray smashes all sales records

The world's highest grossing movie of all-time, the blockbuster Avatar, has now also become the fastest-selling Blu-ray disc of all-time, selling 2.7 million units in just four days.

The previous record holder was the blockbuster The Dark Knight, which has sold 2.5 million discs in 18 months.

Avatar, on DVD and Blu-ray has already sold upwards of 7 million units, putting it on pace to become the best-selling title of the decade.

20th Century Fox, the distributor behind the film says cumulative first day sales were 3.2 million, with 2 million coming from DVD sales and the rest from Blu-ray. In recent memory, the Dark Knight launched with 2.7 million units (2.1 million on DVD) and Twilight: New Moon saw 4 million units sold in its first two days. Avatar's two-day number was around 5.5 million.

Says James Finn of Fox, via Deadline: "Grocery and drug stores sold more Avatar [2D] in one day than they sold of The Dark Knight during its entire life on shelves. This shows that the audience for the home entertainment release far out weighs the fan boy base. It's a cultural phenomenon…again. Employees and customers alike are dressing up as Na'vis in stores around the country, and this is a home entertainment release like no other."

"My sources are telling me that Best Buy has sold twice as many Blu-ray players as they normally do since the biggest movie of all time landed in stores. Mass merchants are estimating that Avatar Blu-ray sales are north of 50%, a remarkable percentage for the format and for the home entertainment category. I'll have more of a read tomorrow morning, but Avatar [2D] is on track to do for Blu-ray what it did for 3D in theaters."

39 user comments

How are they selling so many copies? As far as I know, you can't even buy the glasses at retail yet, and 3D bluray players are both rare and expensive. The PS3 just got FW 3.30 (it claims to add 3D support)...but the Sony glasses and broadcaster are not yet being sold anywhere but Japan.

Don't tell me people are buying this movie to watch in 2D...I just can't believe that (it was barely watchable in 3D..and about an hour too long at that).

Originally posted by KillerBug: How are they selling so many copies? As far as I know, you can't even buy the glasses at retail yet, and 3D bluray players are both rare and expensive. The PS3 just got FW 3.30 (it claims to add 3D support)...but the Sony glasses and broadcaster are not yet being sold anywhere but Japan.

Don't tell me people are buying this movie to watch in 2D...I just can't believe that (it was barely watchable in 3D..and about an hour too long at that).

Because this version of the movie is not the 3D release as it has been known for quite some time now. It is a specifically tailored version to fit a DL BD with NO trailers, commercials or misc crap to maximize the visual fidelity & audio to it's best current ability. I am not buying a 3D TV anytime soon and this BD is now my reference disc because of the astounding clarity & visuals that this movie contains.

I have watched both version, 3D in theater and on blu-ray with my friend who didn't saw in 3D. It's by far much better in 3D version that 2D, because all of those special effects were created for 3D vision. Of course was nice in 3D too because was full HD but it's not comparable with 3D.
And it seems that Avatar 2 is on a future project.....

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 27 Apr 2010 @ 10:12

Originally posted by KillerBug: How are they selling so many copies? ....

Don't tell me people are buying this movie to watch in 2D...I just can't believe that (it was barely watchable in 3D..and about an hour too long at that).

Of course, that is one opinion-yours. Millions people buying the discs seem to think different(myself included; didn't buy one, but did take the time to "acquire" a copy when became available).
As for being too long- I hope the extended version will be an extra hour, even though that still wouldn't be enough.

The relatively small screen sizes, the viewing angle problems, the color & brightness problems and considering the 50%+ extra cost of the 3D HD TV sets and the several pairs of glasses a family would need I expect it to bomb badly.

I love how the studio comes right out and tells you they are going to screw you by selling 3 versions of the same flick and people agree to it. I thought this movie was cheesy and painfully predictable and the cartoony effects were old school, so I won't be buying any version. Don't be cattle.

Originally posted by wiseguy0: I love how the studio comes right out and tells you they are going to screw you by selling 3 versions of the same flick and people agree to it. I thought this movie was cheesy and painfully predictable and the cartoony effects were old school, so I won't be buying any version. Don't be cattle.

Right...good thing we're entitled to our own opinion:)
Old school cartoony effects, right:)

Originally posted by cyprusrom: Right...good thing we're entitled to our own opinion:)
Old school cartoony effects, right:)

Exactly Cyprus.

Originally posted by wiseguy0: I love how the studio comes right out and tells you they are going to screw you by selling 3 versions of the same flick and people agree to it. I thought this movie was cheesy and painfully predictable and the cartoony effects were old school, so I won't be buying any version. Don't be cattle.

How is anyone getting screwed when they fully know this is not the 3D version? What about people like me who aren't getting 3D or the 3D version movie but want this as a reference disc for display & tuning?

Whatever...the only cattle I see more & more of are those who think it's "cool" to consistently side with those who ALWAYS go against the grain now, instead of using common sense for themselves or being open minded towards others personal choices. It's always "big corpz are teh suxorz" with almost EVERYTHING you read nowadays for almost ANYTHING out there and it's seriously getting played out, old and tiresome.

Soon we'll be reading you can't buy anything at all because it all "suxorz".../rollseyes

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 27 Apr 2010 @ 14:13

Originally posted by cyprusrom: Right...good thing we're entitled to our own opinion:)
Old school cartoony effects, right:)

Exactly Cyprus.

Originally posted by wiseguy0: I love how the studio comes right out and tells you they are going to screw you by selling 3 versions of the same flick and people agree to it. I thought this movie was cheesy and painfully predictable and the cartoony effects were old school, so I won't be buying any version. Don't be cattle.

How is anyone getting screwed when they fully know this is not the 3D version? What about people like me who aren't getting 3D or the 3D version movie but want this as a reference disc for display & tuning?

Whatever...the only cattle I see more & more of are those who think it's "cool" to consistently side with those who ALWAYS go against the grain now, instead of using common sense for themselves or being open minded towards others personal choices. It's always "big corpz are teh suxorz" with almost EVERYTHING you read nowadays for almost ANYTHING out there and it's seriously getting played out, old and tiresome.

Soon we'll be reading you can't buy anything at all because it all "suxorz".../rollseyes

Answer me this, did you not expect his eyes to open at the end of the movie? Did you not know he was going to ride the big red bird before he did it? Have you not seen floating mountains in fantasy art before? Haven't you seen glowing plants on alien worlds in sci-fi movies? Have you played a video game like Unreal or Halo in the past 10 years? These observations and many others are why I think this movie is far from groundbreaking, or even any good. Jurassic Park didn't have a great story but the effects were groundbreaking back then. Avatar came out 10 years too late. ok, now give me examples for your opinion,Oner. And don't say 3D because Captain EO or whatever that Michael Jackson disney thing was used the same technology 20 years ago.

C'mon man, chill your beans. The quality of the picture is good to use as a reference disc like Cyprus said. Plus, on the note that it's all been done before, Who cares? The effects are awesome, the story is awesome, and the 3D was awesome. Look, you may not like the film, and that is your choice to make. But some people love it, me included, and I think it's fair retarded to influence their choice on the basis of 'been there, done that'. You've made your choice, let everybody else make theirs. Also, I reckon the only reason it sold that well was because it was in 3D but had a great film to accompany it unlike the other competitors in the craze.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 27 Apr 2010 @ 17:23

Originally posted by ps3lvanub: C'mon man, chill your beans. The quality of the picture is good to use as a reference disc like Cyprus said. Plus, on the note that it's all been done before, Who cares? The effects are awesome, the story is awesome, and the 3D was awesome. Look, you may not like the film, and that is your choice to make. But some people love it, me included, and I think it's fair retarded to influence their choice on the basis of 'been there, done that'. You've made your choice, let everybody else make theirs. Also, I reckon the only reason it sold that well was because it was in 3D but had a great film to accompany it unlike the other competitors in the craze.

Nobody seems to be able to give me examples of why it's "awesome", except to say it was "awesome". The fact that the strongest argument in favor of the film is as a reference disc just proves my point. I don't mean to anger anybody, we're just discussing this right?

Originally posted by ps3lvanub: C'mon man, chill your beans. The quality of the picture is good to use as a reference disc like Cyprus said. Plus, on the note that it's all been done before, Who cares? The effects are awesome, the story is awesome, and the 3D was awesome. Look, you may not like the film, and that is your choice to make. But some people love it, me included, and I think it's fair retarded to influence their choice on the basis of 'been there, done that'. You've made your choice, let everybody else make theirs. Also, I reckon the only reason it sold that well was because it was in 3D but had a great film to accompany it unlike the other competitors in the craze.

Nobody seems to be able to give me examples of why it's "awesome", except to say it was "awesome". The fact that the strongest argument in favor of the film is as a reference disc just proves my point. I don't mean to anger anybody, we're just discussing this right?

Yes everything was done before, and probably done better, but that doesn't stop this movie from being one of the nicest looking Blu-ray/DVDs ever pressed.

No, nothing like this was done before. No movie before it integrated CGI with real actor's performance the way Avatar did it.Is not just about what you see on the screen, but how it was all put together and brought to life.
Point is, you didn't like it, that's cool, no problem...just don't waste your resources trying to convince everyone that it just sucked.Not gonna be successful:).
I like apples, if you like oranges, that's perfectly fine,we all have distinctive taste buds.
@wiseguy0
If you can watch ANY movie nowadays and you cannot predict the ending before half time, I really envy you:)

DVDBack & Cyprusrom said it best but I do have to add that you really didn't get what I said because what you are asking me has absolutely NOTHING to do with my explanation of why I got it. C-O-M-P-R-E-H-E-N-S-I-O-N is key ~ re-read why I got my Avatar BD.

Originally posted by Oner: DVDBack & Cyprusrom said it best but I do have to add that you really didn't get what I said because what you are asking me has absolutely NOTHING to do with my explanation of why I got it. C-O-M-P-R-E-H-E-N-S-I-O-N is key ~ re-read why I got my Avatar BD.

Fair enough, but let me just ask, if you only want it as a tuning or reference disc, why did you start an argument with me? You have no opinion about the quality of the film but still felt you had to argue with mine and accuse me of going against the "grain"?

Yeah, it will be a while before we see true 3D screens, toshiba just showed off another one (a 21" LCD)...but it still has no release date.

"No, nothing like this was done before. No movie before it integrated CGI with real actor's performance the way Avatar did it.Is not just about what you see on the screen, but how it was all put together and brought to life."

Those would be some of my main complaints. All I care about is the final product; I don't care if they waisted a whole bunch of money paying actors to do parts that later got covered up by a bunch of CGI (and not even current-gen CGI!) If they spent $100,000,000 on making a non-CGI super-effect, only to cover it up with a piece of CGI that looks like a cutscreen from an old video game, would you proclaim it amazing? This movie looked like a video game...and if I wanted that, I would just play a video game.

Originally posted by Oner: DVDBack & Cyprusrom said it best but I do have to add that you really didn't get what I said because what you are asking me has absolutely NOTHING to do with my explanation of why I got it. C-O-M-P-R-E-H-E-N-S-I-O-N is key ~ re-read why I got my Avatar BD.

Fair enough, but let me just ask, if you only want it as a tuning or reference disc, why did you start an argument with me? You have no opinion about the quality of the film but still felt you had to argue with mine and accuse me of going against the "grain"?

Actually I was just giving an example & asking a question of how are people getting screwed when this is knowingly not the 3D version. The additional stuff is because us moderators, staff & aD members in general have been consistently inundated with stuff like that fir a LOOONG time and as I said it gets old. VERY Old. So I take it personally when there is nothing but ranting about stuff we have heard a million times before all over aD. It's fine to talk about that WHEN topical...but when it's EVERYWHERE, all the time, THAT'S when I take issue.

If it was a bit harsh then I do apologize, but the feeling of what I said still stands because it seems to almost be "cool" & "trendy" or the "in thing" to do as it has become a joke in it of itself. Almost like people who don't eat cow meat but wear leather belts, shoes, and jackets in the winter ~ They don't know how hypocritical they are and yet have the audacity to attempt to shit on others.

The main problem though is how it always goes from a specific topic to "Corporashuns are teh SaTan" EVERY DAMNED TIME...

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 28 Apr 2010 @ 9:28

I don't care how much money someone got paid for something...whatever, but I do appreciate the innovation and visual aesthetics.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...guess what, if you want to play a video game, you can still do it, is fine by me:).
Unless someone needs public approval for what they watch and their tastes in movies, I doubt anyone will cry and be sad because "he" or "she" thought Avatar was crap.
Bottom line- "Avatar Blu-ray smashes all sales records",like it or not, and is there to stay and make history in cinematography. Times change, technology changes,regardless if you like it/appreciate it or not...dinosaurs die, time has proven it.
If I had a BD player, I would've bought one myself, instead I was happy to dlwd it.

Originally posted by blueshell: a 19GB torrent vs just driving down to Target or Best Buy to buy the Blu-ray movie for $19? I drove. Using BT is just getting extra sketchy these days.

Not sure if that was for me:)--but like I said, I have no Blu Ray drive, so buying the disc would do me no good...and no, not from torrents, torrents are a thing of the past, got all of it from MU and RS.

Fair enough...so did the pet rock. Clearly I am not "synced" with what people want...I just know what I like, what I can stand, and what I hate. I don't mind a 3-hour movie (if the story can support it), I don't mind a live-action movie, I don't mind animation, and I don't mind a combination of the two. What I do mind is the fact that these "amazing" special effects just don't look realistic, yet they are not art like in an animation...so what are they other than a computer output that you cannot even control?

Originally posted by KillerBug: "Avatar Blu-ray smashes all sales records"

Fair enough...so did the pet rock. Clearly I am not "synced" with what people want...I just know what I like, what I can stand, and what I hate. I don't mind a 3-hour movie (if the story can support it), I don't mind a live-action movie, I don't mind animation, and I don't mind a combination of the two. What I do mind is the fact that these "amazing" special effects just don't look realistic, yet they are not art like in an animation...so what are they other than a computer output that you cannot even control?

I agree with a lot of what you say. That's what these forums are for, right, to make comments on the article? People shouldn't get angry when we do that, but they should respond with clear arguments as to why they disagree. Please don't just say "Well, a lot of people like it, so there." That's not really a counter-argument.

I thought the film was good. It was refreshing to see an original work that wasn't simply a remake of an older film. The Blu-ray package contained both a DVD and a Blu-ray version of the film. I do have DVD players in my home that won't support or play the Blu-ray version so I was delighted to see the two versions. I felt like the graphics were extremely well thought out and professionally done. It was animation at it's best.

I felt like the disk was a good value for the price you paid for it. Obviously others thought the same as I did because the sales were spectacular. Perhaps the movie industry should sit up and take notice. Produce a better movie and the public will come and buy it.

Originally posted by KillerBug: "Avatar Blu-ray smashes all sales records"

Fair enough...so did the pet rock. Clearly I am not "synced" with what people want...I just know what I like, what I can stand, and what I hate. I don't mind a 3-hour movie (if the story can support it), I don't mind a live-action movie, I don't mind animation, and I don't mind a combination of the two. What I do mind is the fact that these "amazing" special effects just don't look realistic, yet they are not art like in an animation...so what are they other than a computer output that you cannot even control?

I agree with a lot of what you say. That's what these forums are for, right, to make comments on the article? People shouldn't get angry when we do that, but they should respond with clear arguments as to why they disagree. Please don't just say "Well, a lot of people like it, so there." That's not really a counter-argument.

LOL, I didn't realize someone was "angry"...I totally agree, we're here to burn time and discuss, "socialize" in a civilized manner!
As to why I like Avatar- I mentioned my reasons in some posts above(not that I or anyone has to justify to anybody their likes and dislikes!)-plus, for same reason I like chocolate ice cream- is just my taste:).

For God's sake- If you haven't already done so, go and see the live action mixed with cartoon graphics (Roger Rabbit anyone?) type thing (That's right, Avatar) on the big screen IN 3D where (and how) it was intended to be seen. And pretty good it is.
Then come back and tell me you really care if it's just been released now on DVD or not..
Can't stop-i'm going to the cinema to see it again. Can't wait to get those polarised glasses on again...

Originally posted by ps3lvanub: C'mon man, chill your beans. The quality of the picture is good to use as a reference disc like Cyprus said. Plus, on the note that it's all been done before, Who cares? The effects are awesome, the story is awesome, and the 3D was awesome. Look, you may not like the film, and that is your choice to make. But some people love it, me included, and I think it's fair retarded to influence their choice on the basis of 'been there, done that'. You've made your choice, let everybody else make theirs. Also, I reckon the only reason it sold that well was because it was in 3D but had a great film to accompany it unlike the other competitors in the craze.

Nobody seems to be able to give me examples of why it's "awesome", except to say it was "awesome". The fact that the strongest argument in favor of the film is as a reference disc just proves my point. I don't mean to anger anybody, we're just discussing this right?

Well, my opinion is that the special effects were excellent. A lot of work went into that. And some new technologies were developed, I've seen the making of flick, but it is exaggerated how much of it was totality new or radical. Multiple performers being scanned at once, all actors with mounted face-mapping cams, environmental real-time virtual cam, real-time virtual cam & real cam CAD performer mixing, and new pre-editing techniques that would normally have to be done in post... that all helps with direction and the actors could watch the rushes with themselves modified and in the environments (which they already had a look at through the virtual cam).

But the film is incredibly cheesy and predictable, designed to push all the clique buttons. The Pocahontas noble-savage story is also totally plagiarised too, from a Russian novel, not even the names were changed.

I don't think there are a lot of "fresh", original stories nowadays. Everything is been done before, or is loosely based on some book, is some distant remake of whatever movie. There aren't many stories that steer away far enogh from the beaten path.
"Daybreakers" was one of the few latest movies that I thought it had a different kind of plot.

Avatar would be a good vid game me thinks the world is pretty freaky kinda reminds me of myst,the movie it's self however gets a large..*yawn*,gave up 1/2 way through,nup can't beat prawns eating catfood

Originally posted by Paula_X: dances with smurfs.. awesome.. boring and predictable.. I have finally managed to suffer through the whole thing.. taken me 7 attempts and I STILL don't get what people are raving about.

This time next year it will be "what??.. who??"

a disposable film for a disposable world.. 1.5/10 because some of the cga is pretty..

there you go wiseguy.. my take on what it takes for something to be "awesome" these days..

As for a game.. I could see it as a skin for an Elder Scrolls game... just a skin.. theres not enough content in the film for any more than a cash in rip-off 2 hour £50 360 title.